Sharon Osbourne, longtime judge of everyone’s favourite British reality talent show, the X Factor UK, has officially announced that she has “decided to pass on the series this year”, in a statement she made on Facebook last Sunday.
“After watching the new season #XFactor unfold, I’ve seen the new judges finding their rhythm and are doing brilliantly… Simon [Cowell] was so gracious to find me a spot on the live shows but at this point I really don’t think I’m needed and I would honestly feel odd coming in at this point.”
Following the announcement, Sharon thanked all her Facebook supporters and ended by wishing the show “continued success and as much as I love to get my face on TV you will have to do without me this season. Loves ya, Mrs. O.”
Meanwhile, the show itself confirmed the announcement in a statement to Deadline, while saying that “Sharon will always be a big part of The X Factor family and we wish her all the best for the future.”
The real reason for her departure however has been linked to her controversial interview with Howard Stern a few weeks earlier on his hit US radio show, in which she referred to the child contestants who auditioned for the show as “little shits” and went to say how they “all suck”.
Some have speculated that Sharon’s leave may not have been completely her choice, as the public would be led to believe, but that it was her candid comments that might have gotten her sacked.
Her harsh remarks came in response to Stern pointing out that she would only go in to judge the live shows and not the auditions to which she retorted: “Oh f—, I don’t have to have those kids singing in my face… is this fucking karaoke or what?”
She also pointed out that her contract was coming to an end soon which is what partially led to her “no holds barred” approach when it came to voicing her opinion on the younger contestants.
“It’s like, get the f— off the stage. You’re s—. Get the f— out,”
The Osbournes are collectively known to never mince their words. They have been in and out of the media eye for decades now, with Sharon’s husband and heavy metal icon and metal casino ambassador Ozzy starting out the legacy in the 70s with his Black Sabbath fame.
In the Stern interview, Osbourne also went on to badmouth the creator of the show, Simon Cowell, calling him a ‘pain in the arse’ and saying he would go to any lengths to get his “fucking fat face on TV”. In an interview with the Sun, Cowell seemed completely unfazed by the insults, laughing them off and saying that “words don’t hurt him” and that she was probably just “overexcited”. He even said he would “100 percent” work with Osbourne again.
The 65-year old television and media personality had been a judge on the UK version of the X Factor on and off for the past 15 years after judging ‘America’s Got Talent’ for 4 years prior to that. She will continue to co-host CBS’ ‘the Talk’.